Andy Nichols

Calgary's local home brewing club started less than three years ago with only six members — five of whom hadn't brewed in years. But from those simple beginnings, the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers have grown to be the largest homebrew club in Canada, with over 120 members and several casual drop-in attendees.

The club's growth is due to the infectious nature of home brewing as a hobby. Take, for example, the club’s program director, Corey Clayton, who has been home brewing for just two years. The hobby, he says, “really bites you big.” To prove the point, Clayton recently nabbed third place in the Canadian Brewer of the Year competition, which recognizes the skills of home brewers across Canada. Two years ago, his first batch of homebrew won gold at the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers' annual Cowtown Homebrew Roundup, helping him win two consecutive titles as Yeast Wrangler of the Year.

There was a time when home brewing was about making cheap beer or brewing types of beer that weren’t available for purchase. But cheap beer is now ubiquitous and imported beers of all styles are readily available. So while home brewing is cheap (60 cents to $1 for a pint), for the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers, it is more about exercising some creative muscle. “There’s a lot of pleasure in the act of creating and the challenge of hitting the beer style," says Clayton. "And while the hobby yields hours of enjoyment itself, there is also a lot of satisfaction in enjoying the results, drinking your beer afterward."

Beer is a social beverage, so enjoying the results of home brewing with friends is a large part of the hobby. Home brewers often gather with fellow brewers and beer lovers to drink and evaluate their latest creations and share brewing tips — all in an effort to make beer that tastes better than the retail stuff. Sharing homebrew is often how newcomers get introduced to the hobby.

Skilled home brewers can concoct pretty much anything they want — copying a beer they've tasted before, from a lighter Pilsner to a dark porter, or creating something entirely new, like an oak-aged-pumpkin-spiced-whatever-your-heart-desires beer. Unlike wine, which is largely influenced by terroir and other natural factors, how a beer tastes is almost entirely in the brewer’s control. And it’s this control that makes home brewing an enjoyable hobby. Practically every step of the brewing process can be varied, and there is an infinite array of ingredients available to the brewing artist. There are several varieties of grain (barley, wheat, oats and rye, for example) each of which can be malted in different ways, and dozens of varieties of hops that can be combined in different proportions and used at various stages in the brewing process. Some brewers use other ingredients such as fruit, honey, coffee, spices — almost anything they think might taste good. The brewed elixir can then be fermented by a single yeast strain or a combination of several — there are dozens of different kinds — which itself contributes different flavours and aromas. The possibilities are limitless. Brewers, both amateur and professional, never truly finish honing their skills.

A typical homebrew day begins simply enough — backing the car out of the garage. To homebrew, all that’s needed is a powerful source of heat (usually a propane burner) and a source of drinking water. While some brew in the kitchen, garages are preferred since the inevitable spill of sticky liquid is less likely to result in marital discord. Brewing creates a strong smell — not unlike sweet bread — and a lot of steam, both of which are more easily tolerated in an open door garage. A brew day lasts from four to eight hours, depending on the technique and the beer being made. There are periods of intense activity — adding ingredients, stirring or moving liquid from one vessel to another — but there are also periods of waiting. People can homebrew while they do other things around the house. Strange as it may sound, home brewing is a good hobby for busy people.

Initial costs for a store-bought brew kit can be as little as $50. But for brewers who want to control each step, basic brewing equipment — including a propane burner, some large stainless steel pots, a fermenter, hoses and some bottling equipment — costs about $500.

Current Cowtown Yeast Wrangler president Dave Neilly got a little carried away with his hobby. Now the head brewer at Wild Rose Brewery, Neilly was an avid home brewer in Saskatchewan before moving to Calgary to take the professional brewing position. Even though he brews for a living all day, he still loves the hobby.

There is definitely an über-geek aspect to the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers. Meeting topics range from the technical aspects of brewing to presentations on glassware and draft systems.

Hoping to increase beer knowledge and enthusiasm, Wild Rose Brewery is a heavy supporter of the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers. The brewery provides free space for the club's monthly meetings, sponsorship and prizes for competitions, and it hosts the annual home brewing awards dinner.

It isn’t just altruism though. “We are a part of our community and [the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers] are a local group who appreciates beer,” says Tina Wolfe, marketing manager for Wild Rose, who recognizes the importance of educating local beer lovers. “The more people understand beer as a premium product, the more Wild Rose will benefit,” she says.

In the end, the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers is about gathering people together who are passionate about beer, people who appreciate everything that goes into and comes out of a well-made brew.

Whether you are a home brewer interested in improving your skills, a newby considering the hobby or just a beer enthusiast, the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers (yeastwranglers.ca) meet on the first Wednesday of each month at Wild Rose Brewery (2, 2480 Quesnay Wood Drive S.W., near the Calgary Farmers’ Market).

The cutting edge of wild

Dave Neilly may officially be the head brewer at Wild Rose, but, colloquially, he's the mad scientist. That’s because Neilly still flexes his home brewing muscles through the brewery’s cask and seasonal beer programs.

Every Friday at 4 p.m., the brewery serves a naturally carbonated cask beer in its Tap Room. The beer differs slightly each week, so that regulars can learn about the effects of different ingredients on the flavour of the brew. The beer also contains living yeast, so the beer is literally alive, enhancing the flavours.

Neilly also develops limited edition brews for Wild Rose’s seasonal beer program, which is something for the beer-loving community to look forward to, and provides the basis for more beer education on the background and history of different styles.

Seasonal beers could also allow Wild Rose to push the Alberta beer market into the cutting edge of craft brews. American brewers have been receiving international attention for producing big, sour and wood-aged beers and Wild Rose wants to follow suit.

The current seasonal offering is AF23 Pale Ale, but future seasonal offerings will involve wooden barrels (they’ve already been ordered), and there’s even talk of a marshmallow beer. Wild enough for you?